Defining abnormality Flashcards
What is abnormality?
It is a behavioural or psychological state which leads to an impairment in functioning.
What four definitions are there for abnormality?
- Deviation from social norms
- deviation from ideal mental health
- failure to function adequately
- statistical infrequency
What is deviation from social norms?
It is defined as behaviour that violates socially acceptable rules and they can be implicit as well and not just against the law.
Identify evaluation points for Deviation from social norms
- Cross cultural differences (skirts/kilts in Scotland) cultural relativism
- views on what is abnormal can change over time so this definition does not provide a constant view of what is considered to be abnormal (homosexuality)
- Social norms are created from the opinions of the ruling elite in society rather than the majorities opinion, Social norms are then used to control those seen as a threat to social order and any definition of abnormality should be free from subjective factors
What is Failure to function adequately?
It can be defined as failing to meet the demands of everyday life, preventing normal performance in daily activities.
what are key features that identify if someone is failing to function adequately?
- Personal distress (a key feature of abnormality than can include depression and anxiety)
- Observer discomfort (any behaviour that causes distress or discomfort to others)
- unconventional behaviour ( If an individual displays any unconventional behaviour such as laughing at a funeral)
- unpredictability (behaviour that wouldn’t be expected after a certain situation or circumstance such as trying to commit suicide after failing an exam)
Identify evaluation points for failure to function adequately as a definition of abnormality
- Cross cultural differences on what is seen as normal and what is seen as failing to meet the demands of everyday life. (Buddhist culture people shaving their heads and mourning)
- It is normal after certain periods of time to display behaviours such as personal distress that make us fail to meet the demands of our daily lives after certain events such as a loved one dying. this definition doesn’t take this into account therefore somebody displaying normal behaviour may be classed as being abnormal
- psychopaths can be seen to meet the demands of everyday life however they are people with a dangerous personality disorder. Harold Shipman an English doctor killed over 200 of his patients over a 23 year period and he was abnormal however he didn’t show any signs of dysfunction or behaviour that made him fail to meet the demands of everyday life.
what is Deviation from ideal mental health
-It can be defined as behaviour that makes an individual fail to meet the psychological criteria to be psychologically healthy.
What are features of the psychological criteria that indicates someone is psychologically healthy?
- Positive attitude towards themselves (they will have high self esteem, and have positive self concept and sense of identity)
- Resistance to stress (They will be able to respond well to stress and have healthy coping strategies to cope with stressful situations)
- Accurate perception of reality (if the can accept any aspect of reality good or bad without denial)
- Adapting to the environment (They can adapt their behaviours to meet the demand of any are of their life)
- Personal autonomy (If a person can make decisions on their own and do not depend on anyone else as a result of being self reliant)
Identify evaluation paragraphs for deviation for ideal mental health
- a limitation of the definition deviation of ideal mental health is the psychological criteria to be psychologically healthy is over demanding and very few people actually can meet all of the features for a prolonged period of time so displaying some but not all of the features in the psychological criteria is considered normal, this is shown through people sometimes not being able to cope with stress for a short period of time. therefore this definition could classify normal people as abnormal therefore we should not use this definition to define abnormal behaviour.
- It is not a static definition as it is affected by changes over time. For example an accurate perception of reality is different now as a result of seeing visions historically would be seen as a positive sign of religious commitment but now it is usually seen as symptoms of schizophrenia. Therefore this does not provide a constant view on abnormal behaviour and we should not use deviation from ideal mental health to define abnormal behaviour.
What is Statistical infrequency?
It is defined as any behaviour that is statistically rare should be classified as abnormal.
identify evaluation paragraphs for statistical infrequency
- Cross cultural differences
- It is very objective/counter argument it is not fully objective as somebody needs to decide when behaviour becomes abnormal quantitatively and where the cut off point is such as when levels of stress or anxiety become abnormal.
- This definition has positive real life application as it is used to diagnose people with mental disorders such as intellectual disability disorder. It can provide accurate measurements for diagnosis
